Darrol Blake
Born: 15th May 1937
Episodes Broadcast: 1978
Hailing from Hayes, Hillingdon, Darrol Blake became involved in a school
production of Treasure Island when he was ten years old, and
immediately knew he wanted to become a director. As he related to
interviewer Toby Hadoke for the Who's Round podcast in 2016,
Blake's first opportunity to work in the industry was by painting
scenery for local repertory theatre companies while on school holidays.
Then, in 1953, he secured a job with the BBC as a page at Lime Grove
Studios in Shepherd's Bush, London. He soon joined the Design
Department; he initially worked in the print shop, but also began to
secure opportunities as a design assistant. Blake contributed to the
classic thriller serial Quatermass II in 1955, shortly before his
National Service saw him join the Royal Air Force.
Returning to the BBC after demobilisation, Blake began to split time
between working as an assistant -- including on 1964's Marco Polo for the first season of
Doctor Who, under Barry Newbery -- and as a full designer on
shows like Peridot Flight, Crackerjack!, Not So Much A
Programme, More A Way Of Life and Adam Adamant Lives!. In
1965, he married actress Anne Cunningham; they would have three
children. During the mid-Sixties, Blake began to direct, often on live
broadcasts such as the satirical BBC 3 or a variety of factual
programmes. He served as both producer and director on the documentaries
Release and Review towards the end of the decade.
In 1972, Blake worked with future Doctor Who producer Graham Williams on The Regiment
Eager to move into drama, Blake went freelance in 1970, and soon found
himself employed on the final season of Doomwatch. However, this
proved to be a troubled engagement, as the BBC refused to broadcast one
of his episodes, and cancelled another outright. Blake subsequently
directed episodes of programmes such as Paul Temple, The
Tomorrow People and Crossroads. In 1972, he worked with
Graham Williams on The Regiment. When Williams became the
producer of Doctor Who, he recruited Blake to direct the 1978
serial The Stones Of Blood,
featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.
By this time, Blake had already made installments of both
Crossroads and Coronation Street, and he became
increasingly associated with soap operas over the remainder of his
career. During the Eighties and Nineties, many of his credits came on
shows like Triangle, EastEnders, Emmerdale Farm and
Brookside. But there were notable exceptions: he wrote and
directed a 1979 edition of BBC Playhouse, and he produced the
Grange Hill spin-off Tucker's Luck in the mid-Eighties.
Blake retired from television in 2002. He remained involved in amateur
dramatics in Barnes, Richmond upon Thames, where he resides.
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